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Why did my Privacy Site List disappear and how to get it back

I have used ZoneAlarm many years (albeit a rather old version) and have built up a Privacy Site List that today suddenly was gone (I have never experienced this before now). I have seen no other indication of that anything was wrong. How and why did this happen, and how could I get them back? Could I e.g. copy from another installation or a backup somehow?

Re: Why did my Privacy Site List disappear and how to get it back

Originally Posted by Wilbour

I have used ZoneAlarm many years (albeit a rather old version) and have built up a Privacy Site List that today suddenly was gone (I have never experienced this before now). I have seen no other indication of that anything was wrong. How and why did this happen, and how could I get them back? Could I e.g. copy from another installation or a backup somehow?

Could my ZoneAlarm (and thus computer) be under attack?

Thanks for any help.

Wilbour

Hello;It is Sometimes very Difficult toDiagnose and fix a Computerfrom halfway across the Country, or around the World,without All the Details about your computer it's Software without our ability to sit in front of your Computer monitor and see what's going on..

Right click the ZA icon near the clock --> About --> Copy to Clipboard --> Paste in a reply here. Mind to remove the license key (if applicable).

Re: Why did my Privacy Site List disappear and how to get it back

I should add that, in addition to the emptied Privacy Site List, on the Main-tab, all protection had been turned off (Cookie Control, Ad Blocking and Mobile Code Control). It almost appears to be as someone broken in to show they could.

I should also mention that my router (D-Link DIR-855) has a firewall (SPI) and NAT. It also has MAC Address Filter (Network Filter) and WPA2.

Re: Why did my Privacy Site List disappear and how to get it back

Hi Fax,

Thanks for your response. Yes, my ZA is old, but appears to have done the job well in blocking attacks (based on its reports).

The Privacy tab includes a switch for preventing websites from running code, which is good, but sites you wish to use often require that they can do just that, i.e. running code (even downloading of pdf files). The Privacy Site List was there to allow the user to allow only selected websites to run code. If the Privacy Site List is gone, it must also mean that all sites would be allowed to run code without the user being able to do something about it. How could that be a good thing?

Could you explain what my old version of ZoneAlarm does not do well anymore?
I doubt that DIR 855 is completely out of support, as the latest Firmware update was as late as 2013-06-18. I will double check with their Support. I am also preparing for swapping to Windows 7.

I had hoped somebody would have an explanation for why the Privacy setup was suddenly corrupted.

Re: Why did my Privacy Site List disappear and how to get it back

The problem is that the "If it ain't broke, don't fix it" does not work with security tools. These tools are your first line of defense, if they are not updated they are unlikely to be able to protect you sufficiently.

Malware and viruses have evolved very much since version ZA 7 (a 7 years old version). You simply are using a version that will not be able to protect you optimally. Also consider that it may be affected by undisclosed vulnerabilities that are normally fixed in later versions.

So, not at all a good idea to keep using it. If you don't want to use more recent versions best you remove ZA and use another solution but that you can keep fully up-to-date. We cannot certainly here suggested fixes for a ZA version that is way beyond its EOL status. Sorry.

For cookies control or ads blocking you can use directly the browser add-ons you don't need a security tool for that. Plenty of options out there (e.g. adblock, noscript, etc). As soon as you will move to an updated OS more options will open up for you too.

Yes, there are different versions of the DIR-855 luckily your seems more recent. But watch out for router vulnerabilities as this is a recent trend in malware (i.e. going to the source with the benefit of being able to hijack all the systems attached to it).